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Wednesday, 18 January 2017

(The Edge) Ekovest bags RM6.32b highway construction job

KUALA LUMPUR: Ekovest Bhd received
“principle approval” from the government yesterday for another major highway
construction job worth RM6.32 billion.

The company said the privatised
expressway, which is divided into three sections named Kampung Baru Link,
Istana Link and Kapar Link, involves a total length of 75.2km.

Ekovest is currently constructing the
Sri Damansara Link and Tun Razak Link under Phase 2 of its Duta-Ulu Klang
Expressway (DUKE).

The company has also signed a concession
agreement with Putrajaya to construct the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway, originally called DUKE
Phase 3.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday,
Ekovest said the government issued principle approval for the latest project to its subsidiary
Lebuhraya DUKE Fasa 2A Sdn Bhd (LDF2A).

“The proposed project is expected to
provide vital connectivity and direct linkage for movements in and around Kuala
Lumpur City Centre and completes the missing link for seamless travelling in
and out of Greater Kuala Lumpur and [the] Klang Valley,” it said, without
providing specific details of the routes.

Ekovest said the project is subject
to further negotiation between the parties, and that the principle approval is
not binding until the relevant agreement between LDF2A and the government is
executed.

It added that the project is expected
to be funded by internally generated funds, borrowings and other fundraising
exercises.

Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo is the single
largest shareholder of Ekovest with a 32.38% stake. Lim also owns a 40% stake in Iskandar Waterfront Holdings
Sdn Bhd (IWH), in which Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd owns the other 60%.

The project includes an integrated
transport hub project comprising the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail, the mass rapid transit,
the KTM Komuter and the Express Rail Link.

Ekovest has recently raised financing
for the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway project via an RM3.64 billion sukuk wakalah issue. This is
Malaysia’s largest sukuk issue for a greenfield toll-road project.

In another development, the Employees
Provident Fund signed a deal last September to buy a 40% stake in DUKE’s
concessionaire, Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd, for RM1.13 billion.